The Fourth Way and Esoteric Traditions
Experiencing Movement and Rest in Music What denotes movement and rest in music? And what did Jesus mean by telling his disciples that “the sign of the Father in you” is “a movement and a rest?” Movement is a familiar impulse, as rest is an equally familiar instinct. They are components of our bodily existence, […]
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Remembering to Remember Oneself This may seem strange, but when I wake up in the morning and sit up in bed and begin to remember myself, I find that the best attitude I can take is to believe that I can do it. Choosing to believe I can remember myself, without long lapses, for the […]
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What, in fact, is Real? Mr. Gurdjieff assures us that in the conditions of ordinary life, we encounter our true selves only very rarely. It often occurs when presented with surprising or unusual circumstances. It is in these moments of presence, or self-remembering, that we connect with actual reality, that we are truly ourselves. Indeed, […]
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Stuck in the First Line of Work You recently learned about the idea of self-remembering and tried it for the first time. You had a taste of awakening to higher states and realized that this was who you really wanted to be. But something is not quite right. The time that elapses between your efforts […]
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How does one develop being, in a Fourth Way School? “Use your mentality, wake up to reality.” These are fine words from Cole Porter, but as the song goes, “I stop before I begin.” We have all verified that “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” Do We Wish to Work? Once one […]
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Quotations from Fourth Way authors Gurdjieff and Ouspensky on unity–and our innate multiplicity. Acknowledging Plurality Man has no individual I. But there are, instead, hundreds and thousands of separate small I’s, very often entirely unknown to one another, never coming into contact, or, on the contrary, hostile to each other, mutually exclusive and incompatible. Each […]
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What are the differences between personality and essence in terms of unity? The Fourth Way advises us that the study of man (or woman) must go hand-in-hand with study of the world. That man is a microcosmos[1], with traits identical to those of a higher cosmos. Therefore, man can be compared to the higher cosmos […]
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What is essence? – Essence is the real part of one and is often compared to a child within. While it is childlike, it is not childish. Young children have this state. Essence includes our type and center of gravity. Ouspensky says it includes the structure and capacities of the lower centers, while the contents […]
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– The way of dividing man into three parts, personality, essence, and consciousness is from the Gurdjieff / Ouspensky system. In reality personality and consciousness can be further divided. Personality can be divided into false and true personality and consciousness can be divided into higher emotional center and higher intellectual center. These five levels can […]
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Suffering is a fact of human life. Some people suffer more than others, but no one completely avoids it. Have we any choice about suffering? Though a good amount of the suffering we experience is unnecessary –– the result of our identifications, our sleep, our vices— much is unavoidable, part of the human condition. Esoterically […]
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